“Oh my ears and whiskers! I'm late, I'm late I'm late!”
The White Rabbit | |
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Illustration by Sir John Tenniel. | |
❖ General Information ❖ | |
Species | Rabbit |
Gender | Male |
Hair color | White |
Eye color | Pink |
Occupation | Page |
❖ Behind The Scenes ❖ | |
First appearance | Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
Portrayed by | Ernest Milton (1949) Bill Thompson (1951) Red Buttons (1985) Michael Sheen ((2010) and (2016)) John Lithgow (Once Upon a Time in Wonderland) |
The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" Alice follows him down the rabbit hole into Wonderland. Alice encounters him again when he mistakes her for his housemaid Mary Ann and she becomes trapped in his house after growing too large. The Rabbit shows up again in the last few chapters, as a herald-like servant of the King and Queen of Hearts.
Personality[]
In his article "Alice on the Stage", Carroll wrote, "And the White Rabbit, what of him? Was he framed on the 'Alice' lines, or meant as a contrast? As a contrast, distinctly. For her 'youth', 'audacity', 'vigour', and 'swift directness of purpose', read 'elderly', 'timid', 'feeble', and 'nervously shilly-shallying', and you will get something of what I meant him to be. I think the White Rabbit should wear spectacles. I'm sure his voice should quaver, and his knees quiver and his whole air suggest a total inability to say 'Boo' to a goose!"
Overall, the White Rabbit seems to shift back and forth between pompous behavior toward his underlings, such as his servants, and groveling, obsequious behavior toward his superiors, such as the Duchess, and the King and Queen of Hearts, in direct contrast to Alice, who is reasonably polite to everyone she meets.
The White Rabbit's perennial unpunctuality is a nod to Oxford time, the tradition at Oxford (and especially Christ Church, where Carroll taught) of having events begin five minutes past the scheduled hour.